Communicating with individuals with advanced dementia in their own terms can have a profound effect on the lives of those living with the illness, according to a Fife expert.
Dr Maggie Ellis, from St Andrews University, says working with a person’s non-verbal “language” can allow families to connect with loved ones in powerful new ways.
The researcher says the method is a simple but effective means that relatives and professional care givers can use to retain or create an emotional bond with individuals with advanced dementia.
Alzheimer Scotland says the approach, which will be discussed at a special event in St Andrews tonight, “holds great promise.”
Dr Ellis, a dementia specialist, developed the method of “reaching” individuals in advanced stages of dementia with fellow psychologist Professor Arlene Astell.
The researchers found that people with advanced dementia respond more readily to reflections of their own communication behaviours than to speech.
Working closely with nurses, individuals living with advanced dementia and their families, Dr Ellis and Professor Astell have witnessed first-hand the impact of the intervention they call “adaptive interaction”.
Dr Ellis says their discovery is an important insight as rates of dementia increase.
“It really is a case of going back to basics,” she said.
“At first people find it strange or awkward to communicate with an adult using non-verbal communication such as hand movements or facial expressions.
“It requires time and effort but the important thing is that it really does work. I’ve witnessed some really profound reactions to this type of communication.
“For some families, it’s the only way they have left to engage in meaningful interactions and retain a close connection to their loved one.”
For professional care givers, the approach provides them with the means to connect with individuals they care for in a way that may have been previously impossible.
Tonight’s lecture will be hosted by the organisation Connected Baby, which was recently founded by Dr Suzanne Zeedyk.
Dr Zeedyk, who has trained 20,000 people in the science of connection in the last three years, said: “It is fantastic that this lecture will allow us to highlight how non-verbal capacities remain central to our ability to thrive as human beings, from the moment of birth and throughout our lifespan.
“It is too seldom that our understanding of dementia is framed from a developmental perspective.”